The Salukis concluded their 3-game road trip with a stop at Valparaiso University on Feb. 7 to face the Beacons in a Missouri Valley Conference…
The SIU Board of Trustees on Thursday, Feb. 5 approved the motion to enter contracts to expand solar power on its Carbondale campus, which campus…
Before the Voices of Impact luncheon, a celebration honoring changemaker Black alumni of SIU, attendees gathered in small clusters around the…
The SIU Board of Trustees on Thursday, Feb. 5 approved the motion to enter contracts to expand solar power on its Carbondale campus, which campus leaders said is expected to save millions in energy costs over the next four years.
SIU will enter into contracts and leases with Johnson Controls Inc., JCI, for the installation of LED lighting around the campus and solar power equipment. The contracts will not exceed 20 years.
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SIU will enter into a “power purchase agreement” to “purchase the electricity produced” by the privately owned solar panels of JCI, according to Susan Simmers, SIU Carbondale vice chancellor for administration and finance.
Simmers said that the current and future market conditions predict that SIU’s purchased electricity rates “will increase 69% by 2030.”
The projected payments from the contracts with JCI will total to $14.1 million over 20 years. The projected total for electricity over the same period is $36.3 million. With the predicted market conditions, the university would net “11.1 million of savings over the 20 years with these agreements,” according to Simmers.
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SIUC is powered primarily by the SIU Power Plant, which, according to the SIU utilities website, “consumes nearly 50,000 tons of coal per year.” A 3-megawatt generator also powers the campus. The university purchases electric power from Ameren Central Illinois Public Service Company.
“Together, we think these technologies are expected to reduce campus electricity, megawatt usage, by 16%,” Simmer said.
The current solar power SIU uses has a max output of 28 kilowatts. There are arrays placed on top of the D-Wing of the Engineering Building and on the ground outside of the Plant Service Operations Building. The arrays placed outside the Plant Service Operations Building have been in use since 2004.
The proposed lease would have arrays installed in the Towers North parking lot on East Campus and the Communications South parking lot, according to the meeting agenda, as well as on the roofs of SIU School of Law, Lingle Hall, Banterra Center, Life Science III, Pulliam Hall, Wham Education Building, Woody Hall and Rehn Hall.
The meeting agenda also stated that “new federal and state laws have changed the incentive structures” regarding SIU’s plans to improve campus sustainability.
An example of incentive changes on a federal level is the Environmental Protection Agency’s cutting of the Solar For All program, which provided billions of dollars to fund solar energy across multiple states, including Illinois. Illinois and several other states have sued in retaliation.
Trump has targeted solar with the executive orders in July of last year, which stated solar was “unreliable” and “expensive.” His Big Beautiful Bill restricts the clean energy credits for solar and advances coal on a federal level.
These federal changes are changing the incentives for the board to act sooner rather than later for implementing renewable energy.
Chancellor Austin Lane also gave a report about the enrollment and retention of students in the spring semester.
“It gets harder and harder every year to recruit students,” Lane said.
Despite the difficulty of recruitment, this was the third year of spring enrollment growth in a row. The spring semester has grown by 0.5% compared to last spring. The university saw a 25% increase in online students – the largest of all areas of growth, on par with fall enrollment numbers. The student demographic with the most growth from spring to spring was Hispanic students at 11%.
Dr. Jerry Kruse introduced proposed tuition rates for the School of Medicine to the board. The School of Medicine requested the board to adjust tuition rates earlier to allow students more “flexibility” for “seeking private student loans,” according to Kruse.
Students in the MD and Physician Assistant programs will see an annual increase of $420 in their tuition, which is a 1.1% increase. The general fees for the School of Medicine students have also increased.
Lane also introduced the Honorary Degree for Russel Franklin Bartems. Bartems has held high positions in investment firms in Chicago, and he is also the vice president of the Fulk Family Foundation. Through the Fulk Family Foundation, Bartems has contributed significantly to SIUC.
“His (Bartems) support has strengthened student success initiatives, including bridge the gap scholarships and other academic and foundation programs that enhance educational opportunity and institutional impact,” Lane said.
The board also recognized two distinguished individuals with the 2026 McNeese Anti-Racism, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Lifetime Achievement Award: Dean Marc Morris, the SIUC recipient, and Howard Rambsy, the SIUE recipient.
There was also a speaker from the public, who came to address the Board of Trustees. Christy Carlton took to the podium to talk about the alleged withholding of her PhD. The campus police removed her from the meeting after she stayed at the podium past her allotted five minutes.
A video of the meeting in its entirety is available on YouTube.
Staff Reporter Brayden Guy can be reached at [email protected].
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